Save Your Scraps! ~ Make Apple Cider "Scrap" Vinegar

I love when nothing goes to waste. Of course, apple scraps could go to your goats, chickens and compost piles, but I like the idea of creating something useful for our pantry even better! This idea came from Fresh Eggs Daily (though the pioneers did this for years) but we modified the recipe for easier use with a Fido jar. Some call this apple cider vinegar while others refer to it as apple scrap vinegar. Being this has no real cider but starts with scraps, I deem it apple scrap vinegar but will use it like apple cider vinegar.

After thoroughly washing your apples and using them for whatever you had in mind (we made delicious apple crisps), place all the leftover scraps on a clean plate. Let them sit for an hour to develop a bit of browning on the outside.

Note: You can accumulate scraps for this project, just store them in the refrigerator until you have enough to work with. I had about 2 quarts worth (use as much as you have, there is no set recipe). You may also consider using organic apples because the skins are used in this project and apples are one of the #1 sprayed trees.

Next, place your scraps inside a sterilized Fido jar. I chose to use a Fido jar because I didn't want to worry about skimming the growth off the top in this first stage (see this post if you want to use a regular canning jar).

Prepare a sugary brine for your scraps. For every quart of water, add 1/4 cup of sugar. Don't worry about the sugar because it will be eaten up in the fermentation process. Stir this mixture until it is dissolved.

Pour your sugary brine over your apple scraps until they are completely submerged under the liquid (if you have more apples, just keep making up the brine until you have enough to cover all your scraps).

The trick in keeping the scraps submerged is to place a ramekin on top of the apples and close the jar upon it. This works wonderful for all my fermentation needs.

Important Note: You can only close the lid while making vinegar when using a Fido jar because they keep the oxygen out, which is the focus of fermentation, while allowing some of the CO2 to safely escape.

Store jar in a cool, dark location for one week.

After a few days, you will start to see the bubbles. It is fermenting. This is good!

Once the proper time has elapsed, strain your liquid into another sterile jar (at this point, a regular canning jar works well).

If you use red apples, your solution may have a pinker cast in the beginning.

Note: Green apples contain less sugar so you may have a stronger vinegar with red apples.

Cover your jars with cheesecloth and store in a cool, dark location for approximatelysix weeks.

After a few weeks, the "mother" will make her entrance (filmy stuff on top). You can swirl your jar to allow it to settle to the bottom and create some more (or you can leave it be). This is good stuff!

Note: Be patient on this project because the liquid will turn to hard cider before it becomes vinegar. Our object here is to make vinegar ladies ;)

Once the six weeks expires, you will notice a vinegar smell instead of a brewery. It is ready to be bottled (or jarred). Some people strain out the mother though a coffee filter but I kept it in for medicinal benefits (and with hopes to start a new batch of vinegar quicker with the "mother"). When you are finished, you have a vinegar that you can "Bragg" about (pun intended)! There is no need for refrigeration as this is now "shelf stable" (store in a cool, dark location, like your pantry).

We use this as a salad dressing, in meat marinades and for adding into our bone broths as they simmer to draw out the minerals. I do not recommend using your vinegar for canning because the acidity level is unknown. Your apple scrap vinegar would also make a nice (and thrifty) gift when dolled up a bit in a decorated canning jar or placed inside a pretty bottle (we used a neat pouring spout on ours). Here is our printable label sheet that you may use (just download from the link and print) to further embellish your bottles.

If you enjoyed this project, we share 100+ more ideas on how to use up fruit scraps in our Ebook here! Happy kitchen-crafting, ladies!

48 comments:

I was thinking of your abundance of apples when I posted this ;) Imagine a pantry filled with bottles and bottles of your creation! It really doesn't take much human "work", just takes "time" sitting on the shelf...

This is awesome- making your own apple cider vinegar? I would love to try this. You make it look so easy. :) And I love the opening quote. Such a good book! I look forward to reading more on your blog.

I found you through the Domestically Divine link-up. www.fivelittlefrenches.com

JES, I am doing this now! I have over 100lbs. of apples to can and instead of feeding the chickens all those scraps, I will be making gallons of vinegar. I spend about $18 per gallon of raw apple cider vinegar right now, so this will be some $$ saved.

Oh yes! That will be perfect! Let me know how it turns out! :) Keep in mind that it won't be as strong because it isn't made with pure cider but it is still a good and healthy alternative as it is raw and full of probiotics...

I must echo Farmlife Chick - you are awesome! I've got this in the making right now and can't wait to see how it turns out. I think I will love it if it's not as strong as apple cider vinegar from the store. That won't bother me at all. My jar is from red apples and is pretty as a picture! Thank you for the labels, too! Yes, awesome is the right word!

Perfect! This is a neat project because you get a usable product for pennies and it makes you feel so pioneer-ish… If that is a word :) Let me know how it goes and feel free to comment with any questions! Have a wonderful weekend ~ JES

Hi there! :) Are you talking about keeping them in the freezer until you have accumulated enough to begin? If this is what you are asking, I don't know if certain enzymes would be killed if freezing a fresh apple… It would be worth a try. However, if you have a quarts worth of scraps, you can start with that much or even a pint if you really wanted too just to try this out as a trial run. Hope this helps!

Hi there! :) Are you talking about keeping them in the freezer until you have accumulated enough to begin? If this is what you are asking, I don't know if certain enzymes would be killed if freezing a fresh apple… It would be worth a try. However, if you have a quarts worth of scraps, you can start with that much or even a pint if you really wanted too just to try this out as a trial run. Hope this helps!

I came across this post about a month or so ago, and thought it was something I'd really like to do. I work weekends at a consignment shop, so when a Fido jar came in during the apple part of canning season (which mom declared officially OVER Monday night!) I got super excited and snapped it up. I was actually gonna DO this thing! We had an overkill abundance of apple scraps (we're talking quarts upon quarts of apple pie filling, apples for baking, apple sauce, and apple juice here!!!!!!) so Monday night, I whipped up this recipe and placed it under the stairs (cool and dark area, consequently also the place our home-canned goods are :) Looks so "pioneer-ish" like you said LOL Phenomenal accomplishment!) and I was psyched. I checked on it the last two nights and we have bubbles/fermentation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YIPEE!!!!!! I avidly use ACV (rinsed my hair with it for over a year-- I was a hard-core no poo girl until i discovered the curly girl method! now I use all organic hair pro's and make my own gel LOL) much to the chagrin of some of my siblings and I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Excited to see how this lil experiment ends up! THANKS SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS!

well; we're down to the 'cheese-cloth covered, storing for six or more weeks while it turns to vinegar' stage. :) DEFinitely smelled 'vinegary' last time i checked on it and looked like pink version of your 4th pic from the bottom-- where "the mother" forms-- only my "mother" is filmy pink like it is in the original post you linked back to at the beginning of the post, so I think everything is workin!!! :) lol

That sounds perfect! My apples were green which is probably why I didn't get the pink cast though it did eventually turn brownish in the end. Thanks for the update!!! You are on your way to vinegar my dear :)

This is amazing! Homemade apple cider vinegar...Who knew? Thanks so much for sharing this with us at Coffee and Conversation.~CandyP.S. Have I told you that I want to be like you when I grow up? ;) The homemaking tips you share are amazing!

I love this and can not wait to make my own! I wanted to let you know that I will be featuring this post at my link party, Tuesdays with a Twist this week. Please stop by for a peek, have a great week. :-)

This is so cool! I never thought about making my own vinegar. We are taking a trip to an apple orchard in a couple weeks and will be coming back with lots of apples, so we will definitely be trying this! Thanks so much for sharing.

Thanks for the post! I tried this recently, but a "mother" never developed. Thanks to your post, I think I know how to do it differently. Since I still have a few bushels of apples to process, I have several chances to try again. I'm visiting the Our Simple Homestead blog hop.

I've been very nervous about recipes that use the peelings and scraps. I'm afraid they will be bad and make one sick. I've seen soup stocks that use peelings, too. I usually only cut off bruised parts. How can one know if it is safe?

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Welcome! A little introduction… I am an old-fashioned, Bible-believing, wife to my "one and only" for 20 years, homeschooling mother, who embraces her role as "keeper at home". We live on a 25-acre prairie farm.For fun… my three main earthly weaknesses (in no particular order) are coffee, dark chocolate and hardcover books. What about you? My hope is that this blog will inspire you in the arts of homemaking, homeschooling and homesteading. Visit here for 10 random facts about me... Have a beautiful day! ~ JES

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